In Spain, both branches of our congregation have been present so that nowadays, we have two Provinces.
The Congregation of Jesus has been present in Spain since 1939, when the sisters, coming from Germany, founded a house in Barcelona. The main ministry of the province is education. There are schools in Barcelona, Badalona and San Sebastian.
In the CJ schools a lot of importance is given to pastoral work, supporting Mary Ward groups, preparing children to receive the sacraments and conducting workshops for both parents and pupils.
Some sisters carry out pastoral and social work outside schools.
One of the sisters is the director of the children’s home in Alza where children from dysfunctional families are taken care of. Others work as volunteers in Caritas and other institutions caring for migrants and other socially displaced people.
In 2012, the house “Maria Ward Extea” was built in San Sebastian for the elderly and sick sisters.
For more info, you can visit their web.
The Central Province of the Congregation of Jesus – Spain was born from the canonical merger of the former Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM) and the Congregatio Jesu at the international level. With this process, we, the former IBVM, became fully part of the CJ.
In Spain, both congregations, IBVM and CJ, coexisted, and the transition to a single body – Mary Ward’s deep desire – is being realised through two provinces of the Congregation of Jesus: the Northern Province and the Central Province, made up of the communities that belonged to the IBVM.
Our hallmarks remain intact:
We are an international multicultural congregation of around 1,800 sisters present in more than 40 countries around the globe. Founded in 1609 by the Venerable Mary Ward, we are a group of unenclosed apostolic religious women, rooted in the Ignatian Spirituality.
We are working in different areas and projects – not out of ourselves, but because we allow ourselves to be sent by God. We form our sisters to be mobile and available, willing to go wherever they are sent. We expect them to strive, like Mary Ward, to have that inner freedom to respond to the call to leave all and follow Christ with passion and compassion.
“Vocation” – a word that tastes of MORE, of what Saint Ignatius of Loyola called “THE MAGIS”: Longing, meaning, fullness of life, a task and the experience of being needed. It sounds like someone who is calling me personally and with whom I can give my life a unique shape.
People all over the world are inspired and enthusiastic about Mary Ward and her way of following Jesus. There are different ways to join our network and become part of the wider Mary Ward Family.
Mary Ward once said: “I listened to God’s deep dream for me and felt a longing to respond.”
In this spirit, we invite you to pray with us. We offer a variety of prayers and material for reflection.
